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Sagemont Lower School Holds Skate-a-thon to Raise Money for Cancer Research at UM/Sylvester

05.12.2008

Event Held in Memory of Jonathan Laskin

More than three dozen students at Sagemont Lower School in Weston are not old enough to be left alone, but are learning a grown-up lesson in giving back. They held a skate-a-thon fundraiser at Kaboom’s Skating Arcade in Davie on Saturday, May 10th, raising more than $1,800 in donations for the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The event was held in memory of Jonathan Laskin, a cancer patient who died in 2002. Jonathan was just 17 when he lost his battle with ostcogenic sarcoma. After his death, his mother, JoAnn Laskin, established the Jonathan Laskin Fund to support the research efforts of his oncologist, Pasquale Benedetto, M.D., at UM/Sylvester. Laskin has had plenty of help through the years. She is the principal of the Sagemont Lower School and students and the nearby community always pitch in.

This year, two students came up with the idea of roller skating, and wound up raising the most money of any of the events. “It’s really wonderful keeping Jonathan’s legacy alive,” said Laskin. “We are also creating children who will be philanthropic as they grow up.”